Grounded
by Red5T65
Summary: A set of oneshots detailing lots of times when the boys and Kayo were grounded. Rated T for language ("Sorry Grandma!" -Any of the Tracy brothers or Kayo after swearing within earshot of Sally Ruth Tracy, affectionately referred to as 'Grandma' or 'Grandma Ruth') Alternate title: Thunderbirds Aren't Go
1. Scott Parties Hard

**A/N: I don't own the Tracy boys, just using them for this story. They belong to the Anderson family and iTV Studios. Oh, and bonus: Review at the top as to whether or not Virgil will get grounded for this too.**

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When you're the field commander of an international rescue organization, you should exude confidence and control. Scott knew this. It also happened to be his birthday, and what did he choose to do? Party like there was no tomorrow. He'd ended up having to be dragged home by a reluctant Virgil, and when he was sober, well…

It was the day after Scott's birthday, and he had woken up with a massive hangover. As he was going to the kitchen to try and flush the alcohol out of his system…

"SCOTT CARPENTER TRACY!" He stopped in his tracks, dreading what was to come. It had been Grandma was using her 'You're in _big_ trouble, boy" voice, and any Tracy knew to hide on hearing the infernal shrieking. And so he found himself cowering behind the control center up in the round house, hoping she wouldn't check such an out-of-the-way spot. Then he heard Virgil tromping down the stairs, and realized something: Grandma was absolutely going to grill his younger, bulkier brother about the events of the night before. He just hoped said brother hadn't figured out where he had hid, and that he didn't reveal the information if he _did_ know.

When he didn't hear anyone coming up the stairs, he sighed with relief. _I'm clear now_ , was what he believed. But as he walked into the dining area… "Hey bro! Here, drink this. That hangover of yours is probably still killing you." Grandma Tracy spun around immediately. "What did you just say, young man?" Both Virgil and Scott froze as she bore a metaphorical hole through the younger's skull. "Uh, I was just offering Scott some water! Gotta stay hydrated, am I right?" But she was having none of it. "Scott, I know for a fact you _never_ drink water in the morning, not until you've had _at least_ one coffee. And the coffee maker is clean. Which means something happened last night that you boys aren't telling me." Scott shook his head frantically. "What do you mean?" Grandma glared at him. "Where were you between 9 and 2 last night? And don't say at home, because I heard Thunderbird 1 leaving. Actually, I swore I felt Thunderbird 2 lift off around 1:30 in the morning. Care to explain?" At a loss for words, Virgil, who had by this point finished breakfast, got up, when…

"Virgil Grissom Tracy, _sit down_." With that, the two confessed, and Grandma relayed the info to John, before booming, "You two are going to be grounded for the next _MONTH_ , you hear!?" The two nodded solemnly, as Gordon and Alan walked out. When Alan asked what was up, John said over the comm, "Scott partied _way_ too hard last night, and Virgil was an accomplice." The two eldest Tracy brothers glared daggers at the middle one's hologram, when EOS added in, "Grandma Tracy would like to add to her punishment: Any and all damage caused by either Gordon or Alan must be dealt with by you two." By then, exhausted, they put their heads in their hands, and slumped back onto the couch, defeated.

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 **A/N: To everyone who thought Virgil would get off scot-free (pun intended) sorry! To those who didn't, good job! Have an internet!**


	2. Collateral Damage

**A/N: This one's a Kayo fic! Premise is simple: While training, Kayo ends up hurting one of the boys a little more than usual. The result? Grounded. I don't own the Thunderbirds, they belong to the Andersons and iTV Studios.**

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Kayo was in the gym during a self-defense lesson with Gordon. But the aquanaut was a slippery target, with a habit of shifting his position at random. It was effective, and it let him get cheeky hits in at certain points. Of course, this infuriated Kayo to no end, and he could tell. "Missed me!" he said, after a failed strike to the face. "So close!" after a close encounter between her leg and his crotch. "Can't hit what ain't there!" in response to a punch at his ribs. Eventually she gave into her rage, and charged at him, full force. Not having time to react, he took the full force of the blow, sending him barrelling towards the edge of the mat they were training on. As he was getting up, she stepped on his crotch. A cry of immense pain rang out across the island, prompting everyone to rush to the source to figure out what happened.

Alan got there first. "So, Gordo. How's it feel being caught in the 'nads by Kayo? Hurts, doesn't it?" Gordon could only glare at him, when Scott and Virgil burst in. They entered smother hen mode immediately. Gordon was faced with a barrage of pokes, prods, questions, and diagnoses, until finally they pulled him up. By this point, Grandma had walked in with John and Brains, and after Gordon relayed what happened, Grandma declared, "Tanusha 'Kayo' Kyrano, starting now, you will be grounded for the next week, with no access to the gym. Understood?" Kayo nodded, before releasing one final, mighty punch on the punching bag, before walking out of the room. Virgil then gave everyone the news. "Gordon, be thankful most of her energy was in that tackle. Otherwise, your manhood would've been compromised. Anyway, walking will be a bit awkward for a few days, but painkillers should help, as should drinking fluids, since she jammed the blood vessels in that region rather hard." There were snickers, and Gordon moaned in protest. Virgil ignored him. "Don't worry, Penny knows. Maybe some time with her might help? I mean, it would certainly get the blood flowing…" "Virge, stop. Please. I don't wanna hear it." By this point, Alan lost control and doubled over, howling with laughter. John chortled through his hands, and Scott, though trying to act sympathetic, let out a chuckle as well. Grandma put in, "Look, be glad it's not permanent. I remember the first day Grant realized he had ED. He was not OK, to say the least." With that, Gordon lost patience. A few minutes later, there was a mighty *SPLOOSH!* as he launched into the pool to swim his troubles away.

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 **A/N: Do you think Gordon deserved it? Review with an answer.**


	3. John Gets Evicted

**A/N: How would this happen, I wonder. You probably do, too. Read to find out! I don't own the Thunderbirds, they belong to the Andersons and iTV Studios.**

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John was floating through the ring on Thunderbird 5, and rather bored. It had been a while since the last rescue, and he had nothing to do. He wasn't willing to come down yet, as it hadn't been a full day, but, he thought to himself, he really wanted to. EOS noticed. "John, I have noticed you have been staring at one specific point on the planet when it comes into view. Analysis predicts it to be Tracy Island. What is the reason for this?" John shrugged. "Same reason as always, EOS. It's been boring without major calls, but I haven't hit the 24 hour mark." EOS's lights flared one by one, as if she were rolling her eyes. John let out a chuckle, and EOS then said, "Why have it be 24 hours? Why not make the period shorter?" John gave her an 'are you serious' look before explaining, "Well, 12 hours just seems too short. I mean, the time difference between me and them is 12 hours by itself, so…" But then he heard a voice coming in from the comms hub. It sounded like Alan. "What is it, John?" John drifted over to respond, when EOS stopped him, before running into the comms hub to talk to Alan. A few minutes later, a claw grabbed him and dragged him to the space elevator, before it rapidly started descending. John, who had been too stunned to say anything, blurted out, "What the hell, EOS?" EOS replied, "I thought some time down on Earth would do you some good. Don't worry, I'll monitor situations for you. John groaned. "EOS, it hasn't been 24 hours…" EOS giggled. "Not for you, maybe. But for them, it most certainly has, by your frame of reference!" John's jaw dropped. "That's not how it works." EOS continued. "For you, maybe. But it was reason enough for them. And so down you go."

Back on Earth…

"Alright, who had the bright idea of forcing me out of Thunderbird 5?" John asked as he came into the lounge. EOS appeared. "I did, silly! And you are not allowed to head back up until we have an actual emergency call. Understood?" John hung his head. "Yes, EOS." With that, his brothers decided to pull him into a massive hug, while shouting, "WELCOME BACK, JOHN!" With that, John relented, and he said, "It really does feel good to be home."

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 **A/N: Alright, this is probably the only one that's relatively peaceful. All the other ones are going to be** _ **crazy**_ **.**


	4. We Go Down Together

**A/N: Clearly the Terrible Two have lots of experience being grounded, and have learned that the best strategy is to get grounded at the same time so they can mess with stuff more efficiently and make better plans. Anyway, I don't own the Thunderbirds, they're property of the Andersons and iTV Studios.**

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Alan and Gordon have been known as the Terrible Two for as long as the former has been able to walk. They take pride in their ability to piss off the other residents of Tracy Island, and have made a pact to always go down together when caught (assuming they _planned_ the thing that got them caught together) One day, Alan was bored. John had told him that he couldn't see Thunderbird 3 being used all that often in the near future, so he didn't have much to do. And so he went to find Gordon. Of course, he was in the pool. "Hey Gordo!" Gordon popped out of the pool. "What?" "I'm bored. Wanna do something?" Gordon shook his head. "Penelope's coming here in a little bit. Don't want to get on her bad side." Alan looked at him. "Really? Trying to impress your girlfriend?" Gordon resented that. "At least I have one!" Alan then said, "I don't think your 'nads have recovered from Kayo doing _that_. You might want to refrain from, you know, doing it." Gordon was _pissed_ now. "You're going to go _there_ of all places? Really? Fine. I'll help." Alan grinned. "Great! Now what to do…"

Soon they had it all planned out. It would go like this:

First, Scott would trigger a paint bomb as he stepped off.

Then, Virgil would activate one of the smoke alarms as Thunderbird 2 came back in.

After that, Kayo would get locked out.

Once that was done, when John attempted to let her back in, he'd be hit with a bagel barrage.

The two smirked, absolutely sure it would work. Alan knew he _definitely_ was getting grounded, but to ensure Gordon did too, he added one final step:

When Lady Penelope came in, the car would be sprayed with paint.

With that, the plan set into motion, and soon, Scott walked in, his suit covered in fluorescent paint, hands balled into fists. Then the smoke alarm triggered, and when Virgil ran up, shouting, "Did Grandma burn the cookies again?" He got a _stern_ talking to by the family matriarch. Then Kayo called in. "Someone shut me out. Mind letting me back in?" Scott called John then, and he said, "Sure, just give me a minute…" As he was working, however, John's holo appeared, and he was being attacked. "John! What's going on!" In between hits, he said, "Bagel-" *BONK!* "Machine-" *BONK!* "Broken!" There was a sigh of relief as he stopped the bagels from firing.

That was when all eyes turned to Alan. "Alright, Alan, you're getting-" "ALAN SHEPARD TRACY AND GORDON COOPER TRACY, WHAT DID YOU DO TO FAB1!?" Everyone froze. Lady Penelope was seldom heard shouting, but if she was, something was _very_ wrong. The two youngest Tracys hid behind Thunderbird 3's chairs, hoping they wouldn't get spotted. They were out of luck. Soon the two were dragged out by the ear, and promptly slapped across the face. "OW!" In response to their screams of pain, she said, "Serves you right, you disrespectful brats. You're going to be grounded for the next _MONTH_ , you hear me?" They responded, "Yes, Lady Penelope…" before they trudged off to their rooms. Everyone else was slack-jawed. Scott was shaking a little, Virgil was hunched over slightly, John's hologram visibly shrank, and Kayo assumed a defensive stance. Then Grandma came in, and said, "I made dinner! Now, I know that you know that I know that you know my cooking is bad… Which is why _this_ tray is going to Gordon and Alan!" MAX came in with two more trays. "These are for you." With that, everyone sat down, and dug in, while Alan could be heard moaning, "This tastes like a foot, Grandma! Why do you do this to us!?" In response, Gordon shushed him, then said, "Do you want _more_!?"

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 **A/N: And that's the first batch of groundings done! I'm willing to accept suggestions, so review with any ideas you readers might have!**


	5. Stuck In The Pool

**A/N: So, the premise here is that Thunderbird 1 is needed on a rescue, but Gordon's in the pool, and John forgot to tell him to leave. So what happens? Read to find out! I don't own the Thunderbirds, they belong to the Andersons and iTV Studios.**

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Scott had just got back from his morning run his wrist comm started flashing. Recognizing it as the klaxon, he chugged down his coffee and ran into the lounge.

"What's the situation, John?" he asked as he came in.

"Fireflash. Again."

"Really? This is what, the third time this year?"

"The autopilot malfunctioned. They're fixing it now, but the crew's out cold, so you'll have to tow them until they can be resuscitated."

Scott looked at him, confused. "Out cold? Why?"

"Not sure, but I guess the dip slammed them into their seats a bit hard. Anyway, get going." "Thunderbird 1 is GO!" As John cut the call, he muttered to himself, "Why do I suddenly feel like I'm forgetting something…"

As it happened, Gordon was still doing his laps in the pool, and he hadn't noticed anything off. He'd heard John and Scott talking, but shrugged it off. _John would've called if I needed to get out,_ he reasoned. But then he felt a jolt. "WOAH!" he cried, and as he surfaced, he noticed the pool was shifting! "Dammit John! Warn me next time!" he grumbled to himself as he raced out of the rapidly disappearing pool. But then he realized something. "The stairs!" But the stairs had already shrunk into the caves, and so he had to improvise. "Maybe I can climb up?" And so there he was, crawling his way up the wall, but, lacking the arm strength, he found himself clinging to the floor. At that point, Virgil walked past. "Hey! Virge! Pull me up!" Virgil nearly dropped his mug upon hearing the shout, and he raced over to the edge and yanked Gordon onto the floor, and the two ducked behind the dining table. By then, Thunderbird 1 blasted off.

When the smoke cleared, Virgil asked Gordon, "So, what happened?" Gordon replied, "John was stupid and didn't tell me Scott was leaving." Virgil facepalmed. "I think we need to ground him. Actually, wait. I'll ground Scott too. Clearly he could've as well." With that, they called John. "Hey, Starman."

"What is it?"

Gordon glared at him. "Why didn't you tell me Scott had to go?"

John facepalmed. " _That's_ what I was forgetting!? Gah, I felt like something was off earlier."

"Yeah, you nearly offed me!"

John smiled weakly. "Whoops?"

Virgil shook his head. "Well, you're coming down as soon as Scott gets home. Then you'll be grounded for the rest of the day."

John nodded. "FAB, Virgil. See you later."

As it turned out, later happened to be when Alan finally woke up. "Hey Scott! How was it being a glorified tow truck?" he said as he came in. Scott replied, "Boring. But at least they were fine." However, the two soon bumped into John. "John? Why are _you_ here?" John replied, "You want the good news or the bad news first?" Scott looked at him quizzically. "There's bad news? I mean I know what the good news is, you're back!" John just led him to the lounge. When they got there, Virgil, Gordon, and Kayo (who had gotten back from that morning's perimeter check) were waiting. Gordon glared at Scott. "You nearly cooked me, Scott!" Scott was now _very_ confused. "Wait, what do you mean? I _just_ got back." Virgil looked at John, shaking his head. "You didn't tell him, did you?" John gulped. Virgil groaned.

"Well you two, for failing to inform Gordon that he needed to be out of the pool, you're grounded for the rest of the day."

At first, Scott was at a loss for words. Then, turning to John, he boomed, "Dammit, John! Why didn't you tell him!?"

John stepped back. "I don't really know, to be honest. But why didn't _you_ tell him?"

Scott glared at him. "Why do you _think!?_ I thought you did!"

John then said, "Actually, why didn't EOS say anything? She definitely heard me, and she _knows_ Gordon is in the pool. Maybe she wanted me down here or something."

Suddenly, EOS popped in. "That was the reason, John." Everyone jumped. "GAH! Don't _do_ that, EOS! Most of us only got up a few hours ago, and I don't know how many of us have had caffeine in their system yet!" Scott reprimanded. With that, EOS blinked off, leaving everyone in the lounge to see Grandma bring out breakfast (since no one had bothered cooking) Seeing the look in her eyes, Alan shouted, "She's gonna force feed us! Everybody split!" With that, they all ran off in different directions, knowing that no breakfast was _much_ better than any breakfast made alone by Grandma Tracy.

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 **A/N: Well, how was that? Now, John technically should be wide awake, considering he's using UTC, so he would never be able to blame it on pure grogginess. So yeah, John just forgot because he was dumb.**


	6. Chicken Nuggets

**A/N: OK, OK, hear me out. This one will make sense, I promise. I just got caught on the word 'breast' with Alan, and the next thing that pops in my head is 'chicken nuggets.' So enjoy this objectively stupid story! I don't own the Thunderbirds, which is too bad.**

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It was a little past 1:00 PM on Tracy Island, and Alan was hungry. _Very_ hungry. Not only that, but he was _specifically_ hungry for fast food of some sort. Knowing that a trip to the nearest fast food joint would be reprimanded, he combed through the kitchen, until he found it: A box of frozen chicken nuggets ripe for the reheating. "Perfect! Now to heat it up…" And so it was that a few minutes later, Alan was at the table, munching on his nuggets, not caring about anything else. But then he heard a humming. "Hang on…" He then went through the options. Scott was at a meeting in Tracy Enterprises's New York office, Virgil and Gordon were still dealing with the fire in London, Kayo was out on perimeter patrol, and John was up in space. That left only one option, since he knew Grandma was taking a nap. Lady Penelope. Sure enough, the woman of the hour came into the lounge, and looked at Alan. "Oh, I didn't realize you were still here!" Alan looked at her, puzzled. "And why are you here, Lady Penelope?" Parker explained. "Well, since Masters Virgil h'and Gordon h'are still dealing with the second Great Fire of London, m'lady decided to stay 'ere to wait it out. Is that h'alright with you?" Alan nodded, then went back to scarfing down nuggets, leaving Lady Penelope and Parker to go to the lounge.

Alan soon finished, and he put his plate in the sink, before washing up. But as he was heading back to the lounge, he slipped. "Woah!" But instead of simply falling on his butt, he slid forward a little, and tripped down the stairs… right onto the sofa that Lady Penelope was sitting in. When he tried to apologize, his voice was muffled, and he jumped. "GAH! Really, truly sorry about that, Lady Penelope! I slipped earlier, and…" he trailed off, noticing that the normally very cool, calm, collected Lady Penelope was seething, her handbag swinging. He activated his watch. "JOHN! HELP ME!" he cried. Luckily, his older brother answered. "What's going on, Alan!?" Alan replied, "I majorly pissed off Lady Penelope, and she's looking like she wants to smack me with her bag!" John froze. "Don't worry, Alan, I'll send the elevator down ASAP. Get to the hangar and _do not_ let her in. I don't want to have to deal with her too." Alan nodded, and he yanked down on the lamps, knowing that Scott's elevator was by far the quickest way down. Switching off the robotic arms, he dropped, and ran to Thunderbird 5's docking platform, when he noticed Lady Penelope was hot on his heels. "Oh, crap. Come on, elevator, get down!" Luckily, it did so, and he hopped in, slamming the button to reel it back in _hard_. With that, it shot up, and within a few minutes, Alan was in Thunderbird 5, 22,000 miles away from any crazy English ladies.

When he got into the hub, John asked him, "So, what happened?" Alan replied, "I'm not sure, but breast meat was involved." John looked at him, confused. "Breast meat?" Alan responded, "I had chicken nuggets for lunch. But somehow, when I was going back to my room, I slipped, and ended up buried in Lady P's chest." John gaped. "So _that's_ why she's so pissed. I was wondering. Anyway, I think she may end up getting Scott to ground you, and when that happens, you're on your own." Alan went wide-eyed. "What!? Really!? Come on, John, if I'm going down, I'm taking you with me!" John shook his head. "You don't have the authority to, remember? I'm the bigger brother." Alan groaned. Of course John would use that excuse.

Eventually, Alan got kicked out of Thunderbird 5, and when he walked into the lounge, he found everyone glaring at him. He noticed John was, too, and EOS's icon had shown up, her lights a bright red. He gulped, dreading what was to come. But none of his brothers, or Kayo, or Parker, or Lady Penelope said anything. The first person to speak was… "ALAN SHEPARD TRACY, YOU WILL BE GROUNDED UNTIL MY COOKING IMPROVES!" Realizing such a prospect was infeasible, he slumped down onto the couch, before being smacked across the face with a handbag. The last thing he heard before blacking out was shouting, and he saw Lady Penelope smack some more of his brothers as he drifted into unconsciousness.

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 **A/N: Well, Alan screwed up. And to think that all of this was started because of a pack of chicken nuggets. His luck is terrible, isn't it?**


	7. No Fighting In The Cockpit!

**A/N: If you're wondering where this one came from, my cousin thought of the idea (I've been hanging out with some family for the summer, and when I told her about this, she gave me a few ideas) She's not a writer herself, but she frequents AO3, I know that much. I don't own the Thunderbirds, they're property of the Andersons and iTV Studios.**

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It had been a long day for Virgil and Gordon. A long while back, it was decided that Module 4 would have a pod in it at all times, if necessary. Today was one of those times. On the way back, Gordon commented, "You never did apologize for that whole 'hard work' thing." Virgil rolled his eyes. "What? You ended up getting me back, anyway." Gordon shrugged. "I always serve time for my pranks. You get off scot-free no matter what." Virgil looked at him. "No I don't." But Gordon was having none of it. "Like hell you don't! Like today! I broke so many protocols to save your smelly, stiff ass and I didn't get any thanks for it!" Virgil glared at him. "OK, fine, I'll give you that one. I thank you for deciding a brother's life is more important than stupid protocols and carrying my 'smelly, stiff ass' back to Thunderbird 2. Happy?" Gordon relaxed a little, but then Virgil called Scott. In his quietest voice possible, he said, "Gordon broke protocol to save my quote: 'smelly, stiff ass' today. You gonna yell at him?" But he hadn't counted on Gordon having super hearing from being so antsy. "SCREW YOU, VIRGIL!" he bellowed as he leapt out of his seat and attempted to tackle Virgil to the ground. Of course, this was an absolutely horrible idea in retrospect, but Gordon was acting on instinct. Virgil quickly got up, and charged at his younger brother, and soon the two were engaged in an all-out brawl.

Up in Thunderbird 5, John had been tracking Thunderbird 2's flight pattern, making sure that if anything happened, the big green flying machine would still make it. Which is why he was very startled when EOS reported, "Thunderbird 2 has experienced a massive change in its angle of attack." John whirled around. "Which direction?" EOS replied, "Look at your model now." John did so, and was horrified when he saw that Thunderbird 2 had dipped sharply. He called Scott. "Scott, get in Thunderbird 1. I don't know what the hell happened, but Thunderbird 2 is now pointed at a downward angle of around 30 degrees." Scott stared. "Dammit. The comms shut off about a minute ago, but last I heard, Gordon was about to tackle Virgil. I think they've turned off the autopilot. Tell me if anything changes." John nodded. "FAB." With that, Scott started the launch sequence, and was soon on an intercept course with Thunderbird 2. He then decided he was rather grateful that Virgil had decided to fly a little higher than he usually did.

Eventually, Scott reached Thunderbird 2, and saw that John was correct. It was diving. His first instinct was to slave Thunderbird 2's controls to Thunderbird 1. But when he tried, no luck. "Well, nothing a heavy duty magnetic grapple can't fix!" With that, he lined up the shot, and fired, getting a solid lock first try. "Perfect. Now to bring them home." With that, he turned Thunderbird 1 around, and kicked on the main engines, keeping the VTOLs at max thrust. He was not letting them lose Thunderbird 2 because Gordon had started a fight with Virgil.

In the cockpit, Gordon was groaning. "Ow… bad idea." Virgil was moaning too. "Horrible. Also, is it just me, or did we pick up speed?" Gordon realized Virgil was right, they were going faster than usual. Then he pointed out the cockpit window. When Virgil dragged them both into their seats, they saw Scott above them, with Thunderbird 1 straining to keep Thunderbird 2 from falling into the ocean. Virgil shrugged, and called him. "Hey, Scott? What's with the tow?" Scott replied, "When you two get back, you guys are grounded for the next two weeks. Didn't dad say no fighting in the cockpit? Save it for when you get back on solid ground!" Virgil groaned. "Not my fault Gordon tried to tackle me!" Gordon responded, "Well, then you charged at me!" The shouting match began again, and Scott facepalmed. It was going to be a long night.

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 **A/N: Well, what do you think? Who was in the right? Why? Review with an answer.**


	8. Protocol My A

**A/N: Since John didn't really get grounded the first time, he gets a bonus! This time, with Kayo for probably obvious reasons (if you saw the title) I don't own the Thunderbirds, they belong to the Andersons and iTV Studios. Also, if you want to thank anyone, thank my cousin again! I'll be sure to pass it on.**

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Virgil and Gordon had been called out to stop the flooding of a town, but when Gordon realized something was off about how the water was rushing in, Kayo was called in. When she got there, they got their answer: Someone had been piping water from nearby and dumping it into the river the town was built around. She went in to investigate.

After they had successfully stopped the flooding Virgil and Gordon were called back, and Scott gave Kayo the order to pull back too. Protocol dictated that if there was no one in danger, covert ops could be postponed until necessary. However, John was listening in, and, after doing a background check, realized that whoever had started the flooding, was very hard to catch. So he gave Kayo the go ahead to chase after them. It would be several hours later when Kayo did eventually return to Tracy Island, during which time there was _another_ call out needing TB2 and TB4. John knew that that was never a good thing.

Once she landed, Scott called John down. Confused, he came down to see Scott and Kayo arguing. This was more common than it used to be, and John attempted to stay out of it, but then Scott turned to John. "So, I'm grounding Kayo for majorly breaking protocol, and she's sort of agreed. It'll only be for a few days. As for _you_ , you're staying down here for not reporting said break in protocol, presumably because you _also_ broke protocol by telling Kayo to break protocol for some reason." John glared at Scott. "Protocol my ass. I checked who that person was. If Kayo hadn't gone after them, who knows when they would've been caught? I certainly don't. So you should be thanking me for that." Scott groaned. "Yeah, but it's still a bad idea! There's a reason that those rules exist! I'm fine with you sending Kayo out on a mission to find them, but wait until _after_ a rescue next time? Trust me, no one can get _that_ far in four hours." John rolled his eyes. "We can." Scott responded with, "That's because we have the technology. _They_ don't." Eventually it descended into shouting, until John pointed out, "Gordo and Virge were looking pretty antsy when they left. Can I go back up for a bit to check?" Scott nodded, but said, "You're gonna get an extra day for this, you know!" And so John went up, to listen to another shouting match, before EOS whirled in.

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 **A/N: As you'll probably realize from the last bit, this is a sort of prequel to the last one, so technically John shouldn't be up there. But he is, and that's probably a good thing.**


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